AlgomA/Hooded Menace Split Release Info, The End Of Eclipse, And New Videos!!

A new month is upon us, so let's kick things off with a new news post on this cold Wednesday! Below, you will find new Facebook videos from two local trios, and confirmation of a band's breakup that many had expected for months, but first, here's some initial details on a new local album release!

After over a month's delay, local doom metal trio AlgomA's long awaited vinyl split EP with Finnish doom metal band Hooded Menace is finally on sale.... online, at least! On Saturday, the 12'' vinyl record came out via Hooded Menace's label Doomentia Records' website for online ordering, so what should we know on the final product? Well, unlike last year's 5 song split with Chronobot, this release is basically a split single, with each band only contributing a song each on each side, those being AlgomA's 7 minute long "Failed Stunt Fatality" & Hooded Menace's "Celestial Dissection" (same as seen in early teasers.) Doomentia notes that AlgomA bassist Kevin Campbell has been a friend of Hooded Menace guitarist Lasse Pyykko for years, and the split is a way for the bands to celebrate their friendship and respective sounds. As seen in the picture, there was a limited press run of the split in orange splattered vinyl, but those copies are already sold out online.

Unless you were fast to buy an orange record, you'll have to hope that AlgomA bought or recieved copies for local sale, but the band has yet to confirm in-person availability of the split in any colour of vinyl at press time. If you can't wait, regular black vinyl copies are available at the above links for what comes out to between $18 & $20 when exchanged into given European currencies, but currency values change, and don't forget about shipping, taxes, and the like. I'm eager to hear the full split, and pending full track availability, this month's CD review may be our shortest one yet! Stay tuned for more on AlgomA & Hooded Menace's split in the coming weeks!

Next up, here's some disappointing (if somewhat expected) news, as local hard rock quartet Eclipse have confirmed that they have disbanded. In a quiet update to their Facebook page's biography in recent weeks, the band noted that they were active "until departing" on November 6th, and while they didn't publically elaborate on a reason for their dissolution, the exit of singer Curtis McKenzie last fall and the contentious reports that followed are very likely contributing factors. Launching in late 2015 as de facto successors to the band Haggith (even taking on some of that band's later originals), Eclipse burned bright during their year-long run in the local music scene, including podium finishes at both of last year's battles of the bands, sets opening for bands like The Ripcordz and The Hazytones, and a number of appearances as headliners and openers, last playing live on Halloween at The Rednecks Saloon (following a well-received System of a Down tribute set at The Algonquin Pub the previous weekend.)

As for the public status of Eclipse's sister classic metal band Project 421, nothing has been firmly said from their camp regarding a possible break-up, but remember that Curtis left them too last fall, and Eclipse are credited to have "departed" the day after the abrupt cancellation of 421's latest gig, which was turned into an open jam. If we get any clarification, we'll let you know! The writing was on the wall for Eclipse, if nothing else, but I hope the guys can mend fences in the future, as they were an entertaining and improving band with solid originals and a nice modern base! Best of luck to Curt, Daniel, Fred, and Chris in the future!

We'll close today's post with some new Facebook videos, starting with a new video of local alternative hard rock trio The Din from the pre-show soundcheck of last month's January Jam at The Canadian Nightclub! This was filmed by an uncredited attendee and posted to promoters Live705's Facebook page the day after the show, following another soundcheck performance clip from openers The Autumn Roots. The Din covered The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends" in this video, which is extra notable as the song wasn't performed in their actual set, and despite the more rigid pre-show nature, it's a fine cover, so give it a look below!



Finally, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory have posted two more videos to their Facebook page in recent days! Continuing in their "foundational esoterica" phase, both of these jam session videos are at unconvential angles, including this sideways video (with blurry visuals) and, as embedded below, an upside down jam session clip. The audio quality is nice and loud on these videos, which appear to feature newer originals with vocals, but the upside down video can be a little dark in the foreground, and the blurriness of the sideways one is distracting. Still, Pillory's brutal and fast paced sound comes through very well here, so give their new videos a look above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews & this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!